My inspiration to become a teacher was more an accumulation of a lot events of varying periods of time, but it all started with a biology teacher I had in high school. Mr. Martinous was my Advanced Biology teacher and he was the first teacher I ever had that made me want to put effort into a class. Up until this class, I was a solid student that skated by and passed classes without putting much effort forth in high school. Mr. M was an enthusiastic teacher that when you entered the classroom took an interest in you and your life. He had a passion for biology but he also had a passion for teaching. He created a classroom that felt safe to his students, that invited you to go up to the board or speak up with an answer. Mr. M was able to create this environment because he wasn't there in front of the class as a dictator of knowledge, but a personable individual that shared his interests, hobbies, past, and was interested in yours. The way Mr. M approached biology made things interesting. He didn't mind joking about the craziness of certain science words. He enjoyed repeating loudly PLASMODESMATA!!! as he said it was his favorite term just for its funkiness, but he also used it as a way to explain how the naming of things come about in science (plasma=mold/formation, desma=bond). I am not sure what exactly did it, but I wanted to go to every class, I wanted to learn about biology. Leaving Mr. M's class I was a biologist, my interest was peaked and I knew that is where I wanted to go onto study. I didn't exactly realize till college that I wanted to be a teacher.
In college, I found myself often being the one in small study circles as the coordinator of what to study, of breaking down what was important and how to piece it all together in the best manner to understand it for the test. I found myself teaching/tutoring my friends in these classes. These weren't just biology classes, but were also English and Math courses that I seemed to just pick up the information quicker than some. One day that resonates in my mind was when a professor of mine seemed to be struggling with how to explain a math concept to a particular number of students that simply didn't follow what he was saying. Out of exasperation, he asked if anyone in the class had any ideas on another way to explain it and I raised my hand. I ended up getting in front of class and related the material to another expression that I had learned back in middle or high school. This expression was resonated with them and I was able to show how they were essentially the same thing. Later on the professor pulled me aside and said I might have a future; referring to that I might make a good teacher and that is where I believe the gears started turning for me. I had always wanted to help people, to make life better for people, what is better than educating and watching individuals grow? Having this desire to help others and having a model like Mr. M is what inspired me to become a teacher. I find myself inspired more and more by the professors in the EDC department the more classes I take and know that this is where I want to make a difference in peoples' lives.
In college, I found myself often being the one in small study circles as the coordinator of what to study, of breaking down what was important and how to piece it all together in the best manner to understand it for the test. I found myself teaching/tutoring my friends in these classes. These weren't just biology classes, but were also English and Math courses that I seemed to just pick up the information quicker than some. One day that resonates in my mind was when a professor of mine seemed to be struggling with how to explain a math concept to a particular number of students that simply didn't follow what he was saying. Out of exasperation, he asked if anyone in the class had any ideas on another way to explain it and I raised my hand. I ended up getting in front of class and related the material to another expression that I had learned back in middle or high school. This expression was resonated with them and I was able to show how they were essentially the same thing. Later on the professor pulled me aside and said I might have a future; referring to that I might make a good teacher and that is where I believe the gears started turning for me. I had always wanted to help people, to make life better for people, what is better than educating and watching individuals grow? Having this desire to help others and having a model like Mr. M is what inspired me to become a teacher. I find myself inspired more and more by the professors in the EDC department the more classes I take and know that this is where I want to make a difference in peoples' lives.